


A Place Called Happiness

by chokeprildemon



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst?, College Student, Feelings, M/M, Mattsun knows how to play guitar, Unreliable Narration, a litle bit hiking and camping, ghost au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-12 08:39:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13543719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chokeprildemon/pseuds/chokeprildemon
Summary: Matsukawa is a college student who actively participating in his hiking club activities, to keep himself busy. Yet he still feel lonely, very much like a hollow was forming inside him.





	1. Pink Silhouette

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a gift for Robyn because she won the Haikyuu charade game. Enjoy!

Matsukawa Issei, a college student, a normal one to be exact. His life was dull, well at least to him. Their club's meeting last like a forever to him, they are discussing on which mountain to hike next. Matsukawa loves hiking and he's been doing it since high school, he loves nature and hiking was the closest one he can with nature. Sometimes he wished he can live in the jungle, just to run away from the city, the people, from everything.

"Okay that's all for today" their club's president announced

'Finally' 

Matsukawa sighed

"Ah, Matsukawa I need you for a moment" the President called for him

'What.. Why me?' he sighed

"Matsukawa, are you okay?"

"Er.. yeah? Why?"

Halt. The President stared at him, it last for 5 seconds. It was a brief halt but it felt like the President was reading his mind.

"Okay, that's good then! You can get going now. Don't forget to get enough sleep, we have a long journey tomorrow!"

"Um..thank you"

"See you tomorrow!"

"Sure.."

The President watched his kouhai walked away from the club's room, "That boy is a tough one"

"Yeah he is" the Vice President answered him

"We've got a long way"

"Yeah"

 

***

 

Matsukawa woke early that day, he is excited for this trip. Even though it was not clearly shown on his face, he is definitely excited. The tree, the fresh air, the sky. Also, the upperclassmen have mentioned that they are going to a waterfall today, it's been a while for Matsukawa, he missed dipping and swimming in a fresh water. 

"Has everyone loaded their luggage?" the President asked

"YES!!" everyone answered

"Okay time to go!"

"YAHOOOO" everyone shouted, Matsukawa curved a litle smile, yeah he is excited and looking forward for this trip.

 

***

 

3 hours on the road, everyone is dead sleeping. Matsukawa lost with his earbuds and songs in his head, wandering in his own litle world. He looked to the road and the trees that are getting thicker by the end of their journey. His heart skips a beat, he is looking forward so much for this trip. Clear blue sky and a fresh countryside air that haven't been tainted by buildings and carbon monoxide from factories and cars.

Their pack gets on the move after headcount and everyone had their enough warm up. They started walking into the forest, the trees are getting thicker and the path is getting muddier by the second hour they were walking. But thank goodness it was an easy walk and they hiked a bit yet their walk are getting nowhere close to the waterfall or any decent camp site. Matsukawa is getting fidgety and breathless, he settled at one big rock to catch his breath and to drink more water.

'This way'

Matsukawa heard a voice, he looked around, especially behind his back and upwards. Suddenly a wind gushed to the south, his head whipped to the sound of the wind and the brushing of the leaves. He followed the wind and keep a close eye on the moving leaves, he saw a silhouette, a pink one, it looks like a man's back but it's fading.

"Okay lets do another headcount" the President shouted, "Hey where is Matsukawa?" the President asked

"He left his water bottle here!" someone shouted

"That litle.. Find him!" 

"Found it" Matsukawa whispered and smiled to himself.

"Senpai! I foun-" 

Matsukawa looked to his back, there's no one behind him, he forgot that he left the group on instinct and was walking alone. He was busy following the wind and then he found the waterfall. Luckily for him, he found his hiking group again and their president scolded him a good lecture. He lead them all to the waterfall and they settled at the camp site for the day.

Matsukawa and the other freshmen jumped into the river and play around while the upperclassmen set up their fire and camp tents. Matsukawa swam away from his peers, he tried floating on his back, oh he managed it this time. He breathe in and out slowly so that his nerves calm enough for him to trust his leg and let his body float. He looked up to the sky, eye following the cloud's movement and his arms are flapping slowly to keep his floating movement steady. He felt calm again. 

Matsukawa floated a quite away from his group, 'Peach flower?' he questioned himself when he smelled the peach's flower scent. He got back on his feet and look around to the trees, then to the waterfall and then to the tress again. He saw the fading pink silhouette again and wind gushes between the trees, the leaves moved gracefully yet hurriedly as the wind gushed through them. 

"Oi Matsukawa! It's almost dusk. Get on the land now" one of his friend shouted from the riverbank

"Ossuu!" he swam to the riverbank and get himself a change of clothes.

The hiking club enjoyed their dinner around the campfire and some of them sang as Matsukawa strummed his guitar. His dad taught him how to play guitar and he's been playing it every time they went for a hiking or camping. 

He smelled the faded peach flower scent again and this time, it was a litle bit stronger than this evening and he felt a presence behind him, it was as if someone or something is piercing a gaze behind his back. He felt a goosebump on his neck, but he quickly brushed it off as he continued strumming his guitar and sang with his friends. 

He couldn't sleep that night, one; the fading pink silhouette, the wind and the peach flower scent are bothering him, two; his tent mate is snoring a lot. But as the night becomes darker and getting late, he felt his eyes are getting heavy. He fall asleep with the peach flower scent lingering around him again. 

 

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Weeks after their first trip to the waterfall, everything is back to normal. Normal lecture, normal assignment, normal friend and normal routine. Matsukawa tried to enjoy his study life here, he swear he did try to. But still, there's a hollow feelings inside his heart, as if it's lack of something thrilling. 

Weekend, he decided to visit his father's memorial stone. He bring peach flower with him, his father loved them.

"I miss you, old man" 

Matsukawa stood there for a brief 5 minutes and then he break down, crying in his own hands. It's been 5 years but.. 

He left, grab dinner on his way back to his apartment and sits lazily in the living room, eyes on the tv but mind on another train thought. An empty train thought, he feels numb. 

 

***

 

Later, their club are planning to camp at the waterfall again. Matsukawa sighs in relief, he needs this. He need to feel the coldness of the river again and the smell of fresh air. The usual meeting goes on, this time, Matsukawa has to be the tanker by pure 'lucky' draw.

_I'm gonna die_

He says that to himself. A tanker's job is that they will have to carry a full backpack of their cooking stuffs and utensils and that shit weighs a lot, his club member's laughing to him is not helping at all.

"Don't worry Matsukawa, we'll change shift when you feel tired okay"

The President assured him and that causes the whole club's member to whistle and cheering for them saying that "Get a room you two!"

Matsukawa said his thanks and blushed to the cheers because the President has been taking a good care of Matsukawa since the first time he joined the club. To their surprise, the members has loyally teased, shipping both of them since then.

 

***

 

On the day, their pack are exploring new different path from their first trip. They decided to hike to the uphill before settles down at the waterfall again. The hiking path are a bit slippery, everyone has been shouting here and there alarming their club member's about the slippery path. Matsukawa pants a heavy breath, being a tanker is a hard job.

"You okay there Matsukawa?" the President shouted from his back, he is a bit left back, waiting for his another subordinates. 

Matsukawa looks back to his President, shows a thumb, signing that he still can go on, unknowingly he has missed his friend's alarm about the slippery path in front of him. He walks and he felt his legs are sliding backwards, his heavy backpack adds to the falling effect. He can feel his body are falling backwards and his eyes wide open.

_Will I die?_

The thought came across his mind as fast as his beating heart, but suddenly he is pushed forward and now he cling to one of the tree on his right. His eyes wide open again, breaths heavy, chest rocking hard inhaling all the oxygen he can possibly get. He looks around, his club members are all in maybe one or two meter away from him, even the President himself. He jerks his head behind him, there's no one. Then, who pushed him from falling backwards? Who helped him while he was just about to fall to his death? 

_'It's not your time yet'_

Matsukawa heard the faint voice and his nose caught another fading scent of peach flower.

"Matsukawa, change with me"

The President came to him after he saw him clinging to the tree, he noticed an odd gushes of winds to Matsukawa's right, "You okay?" 

Matsukawa nodds, he's speechless. Well, he almost died anyway. 

Later then, the hiking club finally found the waterfall again and they set up their camp base as usual. Matsukawa rest on a rock far from his peers, still shocked. He washes his face and sighs a relief to the river's cool temperature. A petal falls into the river, above from his head. 

_Peach flower petal?_

He thinks to himself and he looks above and then to his surrounding, there is no a single peach tree around their camp base. He look to the petal again, a wind caught it bringing the petal across the river bank from where he was now. His eyes follows the petal and when it lands on the ground, Matsukawa set his eyes on a man, face glowing and smiling so bright to him. 

Matsukawa blinks and wipes the water from his face, not believing his eyes and by the time he opens his eyes again, the man disappeared. But his nose caught a fading peach flower scent again. He smiles and whispered 'Thank you' to whoever that man or deity he may be. 

 

TBC

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for my indefinite time for update because I wrote based on instinct only yikes


End file.
